Gov. Janet Mills’s signing of a $474 million energy bill earlier this month is a welcome relief to organizations such as MaineHousing that are struggling with higher heating oil prices and more people seeking aid this winter.

“I think we’re in good shape,” said MaineHousing Director Dan Brennan. 

The plan, which Mills signed on Jan. 4, allows for $450 relief payments to an estimated 880,000 Mainers. It will also allocate an additional $40 million to Maine’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), which MaineHousing manages. 

Other community-level organizations, such as York County Community Action, will also benefit from the funding.

MaineHousing could use the assistance. According to the organization’s data, as of last week 41,763 households have already applied for heating assistance, a 16.7% increase over the same number at this time in 2022.

Brennan said higher oil prices are a factor. According to the Governor’s Energy Office, the average price per gallon right now statewide is $4.38, with a high of $5.40.

“It’s not surprising given the way oil prices, and propane, and kerosene in particular,” Brennan said of the jump in requests for assistance. “The way those prices jumped startled everybody and I think it’s just a matter of people saying ‘Well, I guess I do need some help,’ and we’re happy to be there for them.”

Brennan said $1 billion in new federal heating oil assistance funding distributed nationwide could bring Maine as much as $6.5 million. In the meantime, he said, the new $40 million allocation will effectively double what MaineHousing has to offer this year.

“That will offset the buying power problem that we had,” he said. “With prices up so high, this duplicate benefit, will allow households to get the same effective benefit, roughly the same amount of fuel that they would have gotten with last year’s money.”

The plan also contributes $10 million to emergency fuel assistance provided by Maine community action programs. Jackie Watson, director of energy services at York County Community Action, said she is relieved to see the new funding, as she is also seeing a marked increase in people asking for help. 

Watson said the organization’s season runs from July 18, 2022 to July 15 of 2023. Already, she said, the organization has seen 5,500 applications, which is more than 35% more than what it usually sees. She said she wouldn’t be surprised to see a total of 8,000 applicants this fiscal year.

“We’ve almost served what we’ve served last year now, and it’s only January, so it is very alarming,” she said.

Watson said she was also glad to see the $10 million in emergency assistance. Her organization’s energy crisis fund, an emergency fund for people with no fuel and an electrical disconnect notice, is also seeing a rise in applicants. So far, she said, there have been twice as many people seeking help through the fund as the organization saw by this time in 2022.

“It’s been quite a year,” she said. “So, so busy.”

Watson noted that a new change in the rules this year allows even more people to qualify for funds. HEAP income requirements, posted on MaineHousing’s website, indicate an annual income requirement for a two-person household of $40,356, but Watson said now anyone paying medical expenses out of pocket can deduct those from annual income. 

Watson said anyone in York County may apply on the organization’s website, at yccac.org, or on MaineHousing’s website.